Algerian Triumphs In WPT Prime Cyprus ChampionshipOmar Lakhdari Bests 1,391-Entry Field To Earn $190,430 Top Prize |
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The 2025 World Poker Tour Cyprus Prime Championship $1,100 no-limit hold’em event soared past its $1,000,000 guarantee, with 1,391 entries building a final prize pool of $1,349,270. After five starting flights and two more days of action inside the Chamada Prestige Hotel & Casino, Omar Lakhdari was left as the last player standing.
The Algerian-born player, now based in Morocco, secured $190,430 as the champion. This was the third-largest score of Lakhdari’s tournament poker career. He now has nearly $2.1 million in total earnings to his name.
This win also came with 960 Card Player Player of the Year points. This was Lakhdari’s second final-table finish so far, having placed third in a World Series of Poker International Circuit $620 buy-in event in Morocco for $23,811 and 280 points. With 1,240 total points, Lakhdari now sits in 66th place in the 2025 POY standings presented by Global Poker.
The top 177 finishers earned a share of the prize pool in this event, with five figures or more for the top 19. Just nine players moved on to the final day, with cards-up action livestreamed by the WPT.
Turkey’s Atilla Saracoglu held the lead when cards got in the air, with Lakhdari sitting in third chip position to start. It took a couple of hours for the first knockout of the day to arrive. Ilan Verdnikov got all-in with A
A
leading the 108 of Saracoglu on a 10
77
flop. The 5 on the turn kept Verdnikov ahead, but the 10 on the end gave Saracoglu tens full and the pot. Verdnikov earned $18,800 as the ninth-place finisher.
Saracoglu was just getting started. He went on to eliminate Baris Topuz (8th – $24,000), Sencer Ozturk (7th – $31,000), and Andras Balogh (6th – $40,000) to maintain the lead heading into short-handed play.
Edgars Hauks’ (5th – $53,000) run came to an end when his A-K clashed with the pocket aces of Joseph Haddad. The case ace came out on the flop and Hauks was drawing dead by the turn.
Lakhdari won a big one with A-K against the A-Q suited of Saracoglu during four-handed action to take the lead. He then scored his first knockout of the day with Q-10 besting the K-J of Fabian Rolli (4th – $70,000). Shortly after that, Joseph Haddad got all-in with KJ against the AQ of Lakhdari. The board came down QQ6310 and Haddad was sent to the rail in third place ($93,000).
Heads-up play began with 38,325,000 for Lakhdari and 17,200,000 in the stack of Saracoglu. He was able to extend that lead even further ahead of the final hand. Lakhdari picked up AK and min-raised to 1,000,000 on the button. Saracoglu called from the big blind with KQ and the flop came down J105. Saracoglu check-shoved over a 5,000,000 bet from Lakhdari, who called the remainder with his nut flush draw and gutshot straight draw. Saracoglu was behind with his straight draw and found no help on either the 3 turn or 8 river. He was eliminated in second place, earning $125,000 for his efforts.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points |
| 1 | Omar Lakhdari | $190,430 | 960 |
| 2 | Atilla Saracoglu | $125,000 | 800 |
| 3 | Joseph Haddad | $93,000 | 640 |
| 4 | Fabian Rolli | $70,000 | 480 |
| 5 | Edgars Hauks | $53,000 | 400 |
| 6 | Andras Balogh | $40,000 | 320 |
| 7 | Sencer Ozturk | $31,000 | 240 |
| 8 | Baris Topuz | $24,000 | 160 |
| 9 | Ilan Verdnikov | $18,800 | 80 |
Photo credit: WPT.
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